WASHINGTON — In the past five years, public attitudes about same-sex marriage have changed as quickly and as dramatically as on any social issue in modern memory.

In its pair of decisions Wednesday, the Supreme Court provided a historic push to the movement even as it decided for now to leave the political wrangling about marriage to the states and the politicians.

Everything about the decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8 suggested the justices fully recognize the direction the national debate is heading. By every measure, more and more Americans are coming to accept the idea that same-sex marriages should be legal — part of a cultural change of enormous significance.

But the shift in public opinion is neither fully realized nor held consistently across the country or among all demographic groups. Same-sex marriage continues to divide Americans on the basis of ideology, political party, age and region, which is why legal and political battles will continue after Wednesday's rulings. The court seemed keenly aware of that as well.

What the court said is it will provide federal recognition (and, therefore, benefits) to the legalization that has taken place in a growing number of states but not require the majority of states that still bar such unions to overturn those laws now. Yet in doing what it did, even in stopping short of declaring same-sex marriage a constitutional right, the court likely provided strong assistance to the proponents for the battles ahead.

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In one sense, the politics of same-sex marriage already had reached a tipping point. Less than a decade ago, Republicans saw the issue as a valuable political weapon with which to rally conservatives and put Democrats on the defensive. Today, Republican leaders and candidates are on the defensive. Their positions might not have changed but many of them are muted to silent on the issue, particularly in the context of political campaigns.

Thirty years ago, the culture wars split the Democratic coalition and left the party on the defensive in national elections.

Now, it is just the opposite. President Barack Obama and the Democrats now use the issue at every turn as a way to try to broaden and deepen their coalition, particularly among younger voters and younger women. It was this coalition, along with the votes of blacks and Latinos, that propelled Obama to victory in November and that continues to grow larger as the demographics of the country continue to change.

Though it was just over a year ago that the president declared his support for same-sex marriage, he and his party have seized on what they now see as the clear political advantages of that position. From his second inaugural address in January to the speech he gave at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin last week, Obama has taken every opportunity to speak out in favor of gay rights and same-sex marriages.

Recent votes in some states like Maryland and Minnesota have underscored the momentum proponents of same-sex marriages now have. The court's ruling on Proposition 8 will once again add California, the nation's most populous state, to the list of jurisdictions where such marriages are legal.

But in other ways, the battle about marriage continues to rage. Same-sex marriages are not legal in more than three dozen states. Many of those that bar same-sex marriages have written the bans into their constitutions. It could take many years to change those provisions, if the battles are engaged one by one, state by state. Only the Supreme Court could short-circuit that process.

For now the justices are unwilling. That is not to say that, in a few years, as additional tests are brought before these justices or a court with a different composition, there will be no change in the court's posture. But as some proponents of same-sex marriage noted Wednesday, the struggle of rights rarely happens in a single judicial thunder clap.

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